death by desserts: le quatrième acompte

this fourth installment is a bumper post of the dessert happenings at one six b in the last quarter of 2008. i know it is already the new year but this girl felt that the sugary highlights of the months october through to december ought to be shared here at mojitos as auntie ta has really spoiled us rotten with not only yummy desserts but awesome homemade birthday and celebration cakes!

we celebrated my birthday with a yummy lemon meringue.....smooth tangy lemon curd topped with marshmallowy melt in your mouth meringues with caramelized peaks, extremely refreshing i believe most of us at one six b had seconds! i was additionally treated to a sinfully rich dark chocolate mousse infused with fresh raspberries...think melted dark chocolates (almost like liquid godivas!) whipped with just the right amount of cream to give the mousse a truly smooth yet light texture. it was so good that this girl had to work quite hard to protect this special gift from being devoured by others!

birthday cakes two and three (for g and my mom) were more birthday tarts actually...with homemade pastry painstakingly put together by auntie ta, both the mixed fruit and strawberry tarts were outstanding. to be honest, i haven't really been one for tarts as the pastry shells were usually not well made with somewhat of a plasticky taste and filled with what tasted like instant mixed custards. not in auntie ta's case though, the pastry was awesome...buttery and slightly flaky, filled with freshly whipped cream and topped with fresh fruits, this girl has decided that she will only have fruit tarts prepared by auntie ta from now on!

the weekly dessert repertoire continued to increase with the addition of the coffee custard and the apple tart....both of which received rave reviews from the regulars at one six b. the coffee custard was smooth, not too creamy with just the right hint of coffee. topped with a biccie and accompanied by a sugar donut, the coffee custard was not only prefectly presented, it tasted fantastic! the apple tart tasted as awesome as it looked too....yummy buttery pastry base with caramlised apples, auntie ta's apple tart can most definitely hold its own to any commercial apple tart *grin*

the apom and the chocolate trifle round up this fourth installment....decided that although they both have been featured before here on mojitos, auntie ta's somehow mananged to refine the receipes and really made version 1b of both a notch better from their already outstanding standing. both the apom and the trifle were served at two separate family gatherings and both were so good that they were all gone before anyone could have seconds!

here's to a sweet initiation in 2008 (thanks auntie ta!) and to more sugary adventures in 2009!